What Equipment Do I Have?

Telescopes and Cameras

Orion 8″ (203mm) f/4.9 Newtonian
(Main imaging telescope)
Focal length: 1000 mm

Orion 80 mm Short Tube Refractor
(finder/guide scope)
Focal length: 400 mm

Celestron 4.5″ (114mm) f/7.9 Newtonian
(retired but still used for special public 4events)
Focal Length: 910 mm

Cameras 

Nikon d5300 w/18-55 mm & 70-300 mm focal lens
Orion Starshoot Auto Guider camera

Mounts

Orion Atlas II GoTo EQ
(Main imaging mount)

Orion SkyView Pro EQ w/GoTo
(Retired/backup)

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What Kind of Telescope Do I Recommend?

This website is loaded with articles that will help you get started and be on your way to purchasing either your first telescope, or an upgrade to the one you have now.

You can find them all in the “Telescope Information” page, which is found under the “Helpful Information” tab. People like us WANT to give out the valuable information, and help people get the right telescope.

Yours truly also will give personal advice based on years worth of experience if you ask, but I can’t help you or follow up if you don’t contact me, which you can do via email, social media, or if you happen to have my personal number.

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What Are Some Great Astronomy Apps?

You’ll find an entire article of apps I personally use by clicking here. 

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Where Do I Usually Observe or do Astro Photos?

I usually try to do my astrophotos from Cottonwood Spring, in Joshua Tree National Park. I prefer being by myself, but I will always be approachable, and gladly chat and answer questions if you happen to run into me and see my set up.

Other times, when I know the weather isn’t favorable, I may go to other spots that are even further than this location from my current residence.

I also have written these posts for anyone, whether a fellow SoCal resident or not, to be able to help figure out what sky can suit them, or how far they need to go!

Click Here For A List of The Best Stargazing Sites in Southern California.

Ideal Stargazing Spots in Southern California; For People Who Don’t Want to Go Too Far From the Cities

So… How Far is Far Enough From Light Pollution?

Click Here For a General Rule on What Makes a Good Sky for Stargazing. 

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When will you organize another Deep Sky Party, or Celestial Event Party?

Short Answer: I don’t know! I’m often too busy working something else astronomy related!

Long Answer: When the 2020 pandemic closed the observatory for 15 months, my employers and supervisors were looking for ways to put us to work with the building closed, and astrophotography became an avenue for me to work – they needed images to share for public engagement online as it was the only way to reach people at the time! Because of this opportunity, I’ve gained a lot of valuable experience points with this activity since the spring of 2020, and the opportunity hasn’t been stopped yet. Because I’m technically working when I do these trips to the California desert, I don’t announce when I go out… because I’m not going out there to entertain and let people look through my telescopes.

It’s another reason why I haven’t organized any major celestial event viewing parties. Since May of 2021, whenever the observatory does livestreams of such events like lunar eclipses, occultations, and conjunctions, it’s often yours truly behind the telescope camera feed. You should follow Griffith Observatory’s social accounts, and their YouTube channel for their live streams – you won’t see me on camera nor hear my voice but you will at least know that it’s me operating the telescopes.

With that said… should anyone desire to hire me for a deep sky presentation along with my telescopes, that can be arranged by contacting me!

How Did You Get Into Astronomy?

I have always been considered a science nerd and had a basic knowledge of astronomy and earth science as early as elementary school. I used to be heavily into geology and seismology, and I also went through a “phase” where I was into entomology too. As a child, my books of choice were encyclopedias or anything I could find that gave out facts. One of the books I used to read a lot was an old edition of “Night Watch” by Terrence Dickinson.

Comet Hale Bopp in 1997 was the event that inspired my family to get a telescope, which eventually became my first telescope. But believe it or not, my serious involvement into astronomy, both intellectually and spiritually, didn’t start happening until I was 19 years old in 2007.

To make a long story short, it was a combination of a “heavenly inspiration,” a few college classes, celestial event viewing parties, presentations made to very special people, and years worth of repeated observations of the sky through a telescope out in the California desert that have kept my passion going since then. I did not start doing this on a more professional basis until early 2018 when I started working part time at Griffith Observatory.

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If You Happen to Discover Something, What Would You Name It?

It will probably NEVER happen unless I’m lucky, but if that ever happened, then I’d name it after my older brother, Alex, who passed away in June of 2007 (cancer).

The “heavenly inspiration” came in the form of Comet 17P/ Holmes, which an outburst of outgassing turned a normally faint object into a naked eye level comet in November that year. Whereas Hale-Bopp ’97 inspired us to get a telescope, this particular comet 10 years later was the object that inspired me to learn how to use a telescope, learn the constellations, and navigate the sky, and I have not looked back since!

in some ways it was symbolically me looking up to heaven, and my journey into astronomy began with that comet.

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Why the Name “Orion Bear Astronomy?” Where Does It Come From?

“He is the maker of the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the south.”   – Job 9:9 NIV

Bottom line is that some astronomers, or scientists for that matter, believe in a creator and some don’t. I just happen to do believe. But I also believe science deals with what you can prove and/or observe, thus my beliefs have nothing to do with scientific reasoning. My faith has no conflict with the growing scientific knowledge of big bang cosmology nor the origin of life.

Even though in my world for every Jodie Foster there’s a Jake Busey, I’m more like Matthew McConaughey from the movie Contact – retains Christian beliefs but open minded for the big questions in search of truth.

Am I religious? I’m a Christian, I do attend and am involved with a church, but none of us at the church consider ourselves religious.
Do I believe the universe was created in six literal days? No.
Do I accept the scientific age of the universe? Yes.
Do I accept evolution as part of science? Yes.

I do not do what I do to thump the Bible, I do my photography and astronomy help to hopefully inspire you to learn about the sky and see cool stuff! It doesn’t matter to me what you believe; if you are also passionate about science and astronomy, then you’re already my friend! Let’s plan a star party out in the desert and go look at some galaxies!